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overall a really good toy for your child

Violet is a brillant toy for my little girl.Violet is free to program and personalise on the computer and you can choose the songs and favourite colour, favourite food and program to say your child's name. Violet says different phrases and keeps my child entertained. Violet paws and tummy do different activities and interacts with your child. when you program violet there are not that many songs to choose from the list. There are is another puppy pal which is suitable for boys which is scout and you can program scout the same way from your computer. The dog tag flashes different colours when the puppy is talking and has a on/off button on puppy's paw. The puppy contacts to the computer through the USB port and comes with the lead to contact to the computer. The puppy has a white battery pack in the back of violet and is hidden by doing the Velcro up.

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Brilliant soft, education dog from leapfrog, would recommend!

We bought this for our daughter's first birthday at first she was shy of it but now, 5 months later, she adores it. It's recommended age is from 6 months, but I think younger babies could enjoy it's features too.

I bought it mostly due to the fact that you could customize it, with your little one's name, favourite colour, food and animal, also choose the songs it sings and bedtime songs. You do this through a free program you download from the leapfrog website to your computer/laptop and connecting the dog with a USB that comes with it. It has plenty of choices of nursery rhymes, lullaby's, foods, colours, animals, and you can also choose the age range your child is in.

This dog is lovely and soft, it's collar lights up when it sings, and it's voice is clear. It's bedtime songs you can choose to last for 2 minutes, 5 minutes or 10 minutes, it allows you to choose 5 songs/lullaby's for this feature and also the normal song feature. Depending on age range it will ask different questions when you press one paw, for example, our daughter is 17 months and it will make an animal sound and then ask 'Can you guess what I am' will say what animal it is and then also ask 'Can you *animal noise* with me?' When you press the middle it will sometimes ask for a hug, snack and such.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a baby/toddler, it's easy to set up, soft and cuddly and can be educational. The only downside we have had is sometimes during it's bedtime song mode it has got stuck on a song and made an endless low pitch 'brrrrr' noise and doesn't stop until you turn it off.

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I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend as a great present for babies aged 6 months or older.

This toy is from Leap Frog, a brand that is well known for making popular children's educational toys such as the well-known leap pad learning system.

Violet is part of Leap Frog's Scout & Violet range which is based around two puppy characters, one of which is a boy 'Scout' and the other a girl 'Violet'. The Puppy Pals are identical in what they do, their only difference is that Violet's colour-scheme is geared more towards girls while Scout is more boyish or unisex.

My Puppy Pal Violet is a lilac and cream plush toy with several press points and symbols on the paws for children to press. Surprisingly, for an electronic toy, Violet is very soft and huggable and is also a really cute character.

When the child presses Violet's paws, Violet will interact with the child by talking and singing helping the child learn about first words, animals, numbers, daily routines and feelings.

The best thing about Violet is that it is entirely customisable. You simply connect the USB wire (provided) to your laptop or P.C and the other end connects to the toy. You then download the Leapfrog software. This enables you to enter your child's name from a list. If your child's name is not on the list you can choose the nearest version. You are also asked to choose your child's favourite foods, colours and songs. The aim of this is that the toy will now say your child's name and personalise the songs and activities. Internet connection is required.

Violet is suitable for ages 6 months +.I bought this for my niece who is 8 months old and she was delighted with it and cuddled and played with it for a long time and continues to do so.

The only downside in my opinion is that the songs get tiresome very quickly but this is easily remedied by connecting to your computer and loading some different songs.

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A sweet toy which is interactive

My daughter does have a wide range of toys whether they have been given as a gift, bought by us or are just handed down to us. However, when I spot something I like and more importantly at a reduced price I sometimes cannot help myself! A few months ago I was in Boots when I came across the Leapfrog My Pal Violet. I'd seen both varieties Violet and Scout before but as this one had been returned and subsequently reduced I quickly bought it hoping it would become a firm favourite with my daughter.

My Pal Violet is made by Leapfrog, a company which we have all heard of especially with the laptops specifically designed for children. Violet is a soft, cuddly puppy in cream and purple colours. She is exactly the same as Scout who is green. The idea of Violet is that the child learns the following:-

First WordsDaily RoutinesNumbersFeeling and EmotionsAnimals

Violet can be personalised to your child and this is made very clear on the box that she/it comes in and to enable Violet to be personalised you do need the internet. Violet comes with a USB cable which connects in a battery pack at the back of the toy and then connects through the USB in your laptop/computer. You do get step by step instructions which are incredibly easy to follow.

Violet can be personalised to say your child's name which is a nice feature (there are hundreds of names on the Leapfrog data base) as well as customising the music you want it to play as well as picking things such as your child's favourite food, animal and colour. These of course can be changed around just by connecting Violet to your laptop/computer as once activated you have the Leapfrog software installed. Violet is however pre-loaded with 5 songs in case you don't want to change them but there is a list of over 30 tunes and lullabies online.

To look at Violet is very cute, a lovely plush puppy which has a very sweet face. She has a red collar around her neck and a light up bone shaped tag which flashes once Violet is activated. She has four symbols on her paws; purple microphone, blue moon/nightime logo, red on switch and green musical note. They all do different things. To switch Violet on you just press the red on switch logo which you will then hear Violet say "hello ....", if you press either the microphone or musical note you will get music and the blue moon is for winding down time and will play gentle lullabies (these can be chosen online). If left for a considerable amount of time Violet will just turn off.

I found the setting up of Violet pretty easy as you have step by step instructions on your computer/ laptop screen so it is incredibly hard to go wrong! Once you've set up Violet you will then have a desktop icon which will remain so you can go back into the software to change songs and music as and when you wish (you must use the USB cable and plug Violet in!). One great feature of this software is that you are told you will receive a monthly update via email as to what your child plays with the most with Violet such as pressing which buttons the most etc.

My daughter quickly got the hang of how to play with Violet and if she pressed one of her paws she would either hear a child's voice or a variety of melodies and music. I must admit we don't really use the night time melodies at night time as she plays with Violet throughout the day but she certainly likes pressing the paws and listening to the music but I do think a big plus is Violet's red flashing bone on her collar (I'm guessing to act as a dog tag!) which I do think makes my daughter concentrate a bit more!

Now my daughter is older (nearly 1) she has come to know her name and of course as soon as Violet says her name whether just in speech or singing the letters in her name she quickly smiles and starts to giggle and has obviously recognised her name being said but just in a different, child like voice. What I have noticed that apart from the music she enjoys it is also the animal sounds she seems to get excited when she presses a paw and the animal sounds start.

I have to admit that Violet hasn't been her favourite toy of choice and when she can go into her toy box herself and get whatever she likes Violet isn't the toy she necessarily chooses but should I or anyone reach in and get Violet out she seems to get quite excited and starts to smile quite a bit which I can only assume that it is because she likes the toy but in all honestly if Violet wasn't part of her vast toy collection I don't think she would have missed out on anything.

Overall, I'm glad I got Violet at a reduced price as I think I would have felt like I would have wasted my money if I had paid full price as even though my daughter likes playing with it, it isn't a favourite and often gets left for days upon end. The plus side of Violet is the fact that you can personalise her which I think is a great idea and a bit novel. The downside....well none really its just that my daughter chooses to play with other toys over Violet.